URGENT: Do You Care About Your Voice Being Heard?

On Monday, the DISCLOSE Act is set to be voted on in the Senate. While this act does not prevent special interest monies, from both the left and right being donated to SuperPACs and other organizations, it does require that major donors be publicly identified.

The DISCLOSE Act does not seek to harm donors for their views or electoral preferences, but simply to inform the public of who is speaking so the People can determine if the advertising is in their best interest and aligns with their views.

Political advertising has never been subject to Truth in Advertising laws that affect other advertisers. For example, an pharmaceutical company cannot make claims regarding the benefits of a drug without documented proof of its efficacy. However, political advertising has never been subject to these same stringent regulations.

The result is that political advertising, whether TV ads, email or direct mail campaigns, can make claims that are not just false but complete lies.

The DISCLOSE Act does not require an group or organization from continuing to make false claims, but simply requires large donors to own up the statements being made. No more hiding…they will be required to accept responsibility for their advocacy, regardless of who is making the claim. The law affects not just wealthy donors like the Koch Brothers or Exxon Mobil and JP Morgan but unions as well.

Basically, it says that if anyone donates over a certain amount (~ $1500) their name has to be on the advertising, regardless of the medium used.

Again, this Act is not meant to punish special interests but rather to enable voters to determine if the advertising messages are in their best interests. What this Act does is enable voters to see who is creating the messages and then be able make a better informed choice.

I realize that our Founders used pseudonyms when arguing the case for the ratification of the Constitution, but none of our Founders joined large, well-funded groups intent on using their financial power to overwhelm not just the opposition but also the voices of the people. The enormously loud megaphone, now used by wealthy donors and groups, drowns out the voices of the People and all opposition.

Democracy requires all voices be heard in the public square. But when the public square is dominated by just one special interest voice with a huge megaphone, hiding behind a cloak of secrecy, democracy suffers as we’ve seen from dictatorial regimes across the world. Democracy requires transparency to work for all the People.

Regardless of your political stripe – left, right or in the middle – you need to add your voice to the millions of other citizens who say the People should, at the very least, know who is making whatever claims in the public arena that will affect our lives, our businesses, our families, and our communities.

The Sunlight Foundation, in addition to Democratic Senators, are asking for your support to get the DISCLOSE Act passed On Monday. Join the millions of American citizens who demand to know who is speaking in our public square so we, the People, can decide if what they advocate is in our interest.

From the non-partisan Sunlight Foundation:

The Senate is likely to vote on the DISCLOSE Act next week, and we need your help to try to break a promised filibuster so that we can shine a light on who is financing our elections.

Would you write letter to the editor of your hometown paper?

It’s a great way to remind our government, as well as your friends and neighbors, that we need to know who’s behind the unlimited money flowing into our elections. And it’s easy. We’ve given you the tools (and talking points) you need to quickly send a letter to your paper.

You have already been bombarded with hundreds of millions of dollars worth of mudslinging political ads paid for by unknown sources of money, and it’s only going to get worse. The DISCLOSE Act will help to ensure that the sources of dark money are brought to light so that you know who is paying for all those ads.

Thanks for all that you do,

Lisa, Amy and the rest of the Sunlight team

P.S. — Want to learn more? We’re blogging all about the DISCLOSE ActThe Senate is likely to vote on the DISCLOSE Act next week, and we need your help to try to break a promised filibuster so that we can shine a light on who is financing our elections.

It’s a great way to remind our government, as well as your friends and neighbors, that we need to know who’s behind the unlimited money flowing into our elections. And it’s easy. We’ve given you the tools (and talking points) you need to quickly send a letter to your paper.

You have already been bombarded with hundreds of millions of dollars worth of mudslinging political ads paid for by unknown sources of money, and it’s only going to get worse. The DISCLOSE Act will help to ensure that the sources of dark money are brought to light so that you know who is paying for all those ads.

In addition, a number of Senators have sent our an email alert asking concerned citizens to sign a petition joining with them in support of the DISCLOSE Act. You need not be a Democrat or Republican to want a transparently funded government, but you must be a patriotic citizen to support this bill.